Educational technology is shortening student attention span.
Introduction
Our youth has been brought up in a fast multitasking atmosphere since birth. From the fast paced cartoons that flash from scene to scene to the video games that involve constant change and movement our children are exposed to a fast paced society. Online resouces allow for instant results and location of information. All our current students have ever known is mutitasking, so they do not know how to sit back and focus on one thing or enjoy the moment. Teachers have had to change with the times in order to attempt to force students to problem solve and learn the state required content. In order for a teacher to grab the attention of student in a typical learning atmosphere they have to reward them. No wonder why they can't sit and learn with out a reward. They need instant gratification in order to fulfill their fast paced, constantly changing lifestyle. Technology in the classroom is feeding the fast paced appetite of students while directly affecting and adding to the problem of shorter attention spans.
Teachers are responsible for preparing students for the work force. Although some jobs are fast paced at times, most jobs are repetitive and do not give instant gratification. A factory worker will not typically see the end product of their work, they will not work in an atmosphere where everything is constantly changing. Even white collar jobs will usually require meetings that may be long and require a long lasting attention span. There are very few jobs that will benefit from a short attention span.
Facts
Among 78 published studies reviewed from the last 25 years, one found that infants between seven to 16 months who watched DVDs had poorer language skills. On a standardized language test, that meant "for each hour of baby DVDs that infants watched, they knew on average six to eight fewer words,". (Proudfoot)
A study with 1,300 children in 2004 that found a "modest association" between TV viewing before age three and attention problems at age seven. Another study found lagging reading and memory skills in children who watched a lot of TV in their early years. (Proudfoot)
2 out of 5 children under age 2 watch television every day, and a quarter of them have TVs in their own rooms. (Vicky Rideout of the Kaiser Family Foundation)
Conclusion
Students today have access to multiple technologies at once. They play video games, surf the internet, IM and text their friends and watch TV, all while typing a paper for class. They have a hard time simply focusing on typing the paper without multitasking. When it comes to school, teachers are noticing that more must be done in order to capture and keep the attention of students. Students look for instant gratification. When it comes to higher level thinking questions, students seem to have a more difficult time focusing and applying their attention to the task at hand. While technology has provided many positive changes to the classroom, it is evident that changes have also been made to students' attention spans. Unfortunately, some of those changes are that students are less patient, more prone to multitasking, and less able to focus on a task for longer periods of time. Therefore, our students are going to expect quick transitions and rewards. Patience is something we all have to learn and it is needed throughout the course of life. Technology is needed but it has to be balanced with fundamental "investments of interpretive effort and critical skill."(ISTE article)
Introduction
Our youth has been brought up in a fast multitasking atmosphere since birth. From the fast paced cartoons that flash from scene to scene to the video games that involve constant change and movement our children are exposed to a fast paced society. Online resouces allow for instant results and location of information. All our current students have ever known is mutitasking, so they do not know how to sit back and focus on one thing or enjoy the moment. Teachers have had to change with the times in order to attempt to force students to problem solve and learn the state required content. In order for a teacher to grab the attention of student in a typical learning atmosphere they have to reward them. No wonder why they can't sit and learn with out a reward. They need instant gratification in order to fulfill their fast paced, constantly changing lifestyle. Technology in the classroom is feeding the fast paced appetite of students while directly affecting and adding to the problem of shorter attention spans.
Teachers are responsible for preparing students for the work force. Although some jobs are fast paced at times, most jobs are repetitive and do not give instant gratification. A factory worker will not typically see the end product of their work, they will not work in an atmosphere where everything is constantly changing. Even white collar jobs will usually require meetings that may be long and require a long lasting attention span. There are very few jobs that will benefit from a short attention span.
Facts
Among 78 published studies reviewed from the last 25 years, one found that infants between seven to 16 months who watched DVDs had poorer language skills. On a standardized language test, that meant "for each hour of baby DVDs that infants watched, they knew on average six to eight fewer words,". (Proudfoot)
A study with 1,300 children in 2004 that found a "modest association" between TV viewing before age three and attention problems at age seven. Another study found lagging reading and memory skills in children who watched a lot of TV in their early years. (Proudfoot)
2 out of 5 children under age 2 watch television every day, and a quarter of them have TVs in their own rooms. (Vicky Rideout of the Kaiser Family Foundation)
LINKS:
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume3620082009/AugustNo1/36108m.pdf
Winnipeg Free Press Article - Baby TV doesn't help, may hurt: MD Attention spans, language suffer By: Shannon Proudfoot
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/entertainment/TV/baby_tv_doesnt_help_may_hurt_md.html
USA Today Article on short attention span linked to TV
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-04-05-tv-bottomstrip_x.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-04-05-tv-kids-attention-usat_x.htm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295686,00.html?sPage=fnc/health/neurology
Amusing Ourselves to Death
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death
Conclusion
Students today have access to multiple technologies at once. They play video games, surf the internet, IM and text their friends and watch TV, all while typing a paper for class. They have a hard time simply focusing on typing the paper without multitasking. When it comes to school, teachers are noticing that more must be done in order to capture and keep the attention of students. Students look for instant gratification. When it comes to higher level thinking questions, students seem to have a more difficult time focusing and applying their attention to the task at hand. While technology has provided many positive changes to the classroom, it is evident that changes have also been made to students' attention spans. Unfortunately, some of those changes are that students are less patient, more prone to multitasking, and less able to focus on a task for longer periods of time. Therefore, our students are going to expect quick transitions and rewards. Patience is something we all have to learn and it is needed throughout the course of life. Technology is needed but it has to be balanced with fundamental "investments of interpretive effort and critical skill."(ISTE article)